Blood and Tears Rewrite
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: Rewrite. For ages holding a tentative truce, the vampires and vampire hunters of Tokyo middle school circuit have to form perhaps the strangest union ever as a new enemy threatens them all. Eventual shounen ai AtoKaba, TezuOishi, Troika, various others.
1. Washing the Streets

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Konomi Takeshi does. I'm merely playing with them for the moment.

A/N: Between the 1st and 25th of December, I kept posting one fic/update a day over at my LJ, **lumelle**. These updates were in series of five fics sharing a theme.

The fourth series of five started five AUs. This one is a rewrite of _Blood and Tears_, which I put on indefinite hiatus after losing five finished chapters in a computer crash. You might take note this will take quite a different route than the original one.

* * *

**Blood and Tears**

_Chapter 1_

Washing the Streets

It should have been raining, Sengoku found himself thinking. In movies it always rained on moments like this, the streets washed with ever pouring water from the grey skies, forming swirling puddles along the edges of the sidewalks and seeping into the clothes of those unfortunate enough not to make it up to their feet. Instead, it was just another dull night, with any glimpse of stars well drowned out by the lights of the town, yet with shadows enveloping the small streets and alleys.

The only puddle forming on the ground was dark red, almost black, and gave off a scent that sickened him. He might have thought about clearing it off, as the rain would not clean off this particular proof of what had happened, but there was no need. It would all be gone come morning. On that exact moment, too.

Stepping almost casually over the fallen form of what had just moments ago been his sudden opponent, he stalked down the alley, looking for whatever had brought that… thing… around here. He smelled more blood, human blood, and there was something familiar there yet he couldn't exactly –

His eyes caught something on the ground, and he froze. He… knew that form. He knew the white uniform that was now badly torn and stained with blood, knew the shaggy mop of dark hair, knew the pointed, almost elfin face that was supposed to be smiling instead of blindly staring like now. He knew it all, yet he hadn't expected to see it. Not here. Not in this situation.

Claws off, Sengoku. You need to look nice.

The last traces of battle had disappeared from his mind yet he was almost taken over by a whole other kind of bloodlust, a much more devastating one, the kind of bloodlust that threatened to tear apart his soul instead of his body. He managed to ignore it, though, his will surprisingly strong even against the overwhelming scent of blood, though the identity of the victim might have somewhat strengthened his resolve. Crouching down next to the poor kid, he reached out a hand to brush against the side of the pale face.

"Hey, kid," he said softly, the words almost choking at his throat. The brown eyes were half-open, looking up to the sky. For a moment he thought he wouldn't get any response, and a feeling of dread filled him, until finally the vacant gaze shifted to focus on him.

"…Sengoku-senpai…" Dan murmured, turning his head painfully slowly. "You… why are you…"

"Shh… it doesn't matter yet," Sengoku murmured. "You're badly hurt. Just lie down." Even as he spoke, he shrugged off his jacket, draping it over the child's shivering form. Just by a quick glance he could tell that the numerous gashes were too much. He didn't need any instincts to warn him that this blood would soon grow much less warm. The brutality of it sickened him, the thought that someone might do this simply because they enjoyed hurting and tearing, simply because they got off on causing their chosen target as much pain as possible… It was sick, and deplorable, and right now it was quickly becoming an inescapable fate for his dear little kouhai.

"What… happened?" Dan asked, his voice faint as Sengoku carefully picked him up, cradling the child closer to his chest. "He… he just decided to hurt me… I didn't do anything, Sengoku-senpai, he just hurt me and those claws…"

"I know, Dan-kun. It's not your fault." He glanced darkly towards the fallen figure. Oh, the one responsible for this had been disposed of… but that still wouldn't erase the results of his actions. A quick check of Dan's wounds told him what he knew already; what little skill he had in healing would be useless, here.

"Sengoku-senpai…" Dan's hand grasped onto his shirt, clinging to him almost desperately, as though that would make the pain go away. "I'm cold…"

Sengoku swallowed. He could practically see it, see the life escaping from his kouhai's frail body… there wasn't a lot of time left. With all those wounds and gashes, it was really a wonder the kid was still conscious at all.

At this point, there was only one he could even think of doing. He hated it, he hated himself for it, yet at the moment… that still seemed better than the alternative. Because he couldn't let Dan die, could he, he couldn't let such a cute little boy die for such a stupid reason, not even if it meant paying such a great price because nothing could be as big a price as an innocent life.

"Dan-kun," he murmured, "I need you to be really brave for me now, okay? Just… don't be afraid, all right? I know you can do this. You're not afraid of Akutsu, after all, so you really shouldn't be afraid of me. Got it?"

Dan nodded, slowly, looking very weak as he did so. "Got it," he murmured, his hand relaxing a little from its tight grip on Sengoku's shirt. "I… trust you, Sengoku-senpai."

Oh, but he really shouldn't have, Sengoku thought as he dragged Dan further into his arms, adjusting his position. Dan made no move to resist or even react, merely blinking slowly as Sengoku shifted the shaggy hear on his arm, tilting the pointed little chin so he could have better access to Dan's neck.

Dan tasted sweet, he noted, sweet and pure and innocent, hell, he was probably still a virgin even, but he forced himself to ignore such little details, he had to ignore such details if he didn't want Dan to perish in such a painful way.

It should have been raining yet it wasn't, but Sengoku still found his cheeks all wet.


	2. Hurt and Comfort

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Konomi Takeshi does. I'm merely playing with them for the moment.

A/N: See? I actually wrote Rikkai! O_O They'll show up even more in the next chapter, too.

* * *

**Blood and Tears**

_Chapter 2_

Hurt and Comfort

Dan blinked once, twice, a third time before his eyes finally consented to staying open. For a little while he merely lay quietly in bed, looking up to the ceiling. It… wasn't his ceiling. Or his bed, for that matter. Somewhat startled, he tried to sit up, only to sink back as he suddenly hurt. Badly so.

Lying on the bed, he turned his head a bit. The room seemed… familiar, even though it wasn't his own. He tried to place it somewhere but only got his head hurting from the very idea of thinking. Why exactly was he hurting everywhere, anyway?

Slowly, memories from what he supposed was the night before came up in his mind. Walking on his way home. A shadowy figure… attacking him, there had been claws too, sharp claws cutting him that no human should have even had in the first place, what had that figure even been… And then Sengoku-senpai, he remembered Sengoku-senpai coming and picking him up, cradling him close and covering him with a jacket. It had been so cold, and the senpai had felt cold too, he'd been so hurt and the smell of blood had been so overwhelming… Sengoku-senpai had asked him something, told him not to be afraid, but whatever had happened after that was little more than a blur.

Dan shifted a bit and couldn't help but groan. He was definitely feeling all those cuts and gashes… but, surprisingly, not as badly as he'd thought he might. Had he just been imagining all that blood and pain? No, he couldn't have, could he…

Just then, the door was opened, and Sengoku-senpai walked in. "Ah, Dan-kun!" he exclaimed, rushing to the side of the bed as soon as he noticed that Dan was awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Hurting," murmured Dan, making a face. Even his voice was weak. "Where… is this place? Your… room, senpai?"

"That's right." Sengoku nodded, settling another pillow under Dan's head so he could see around better without rising. "I'd be surprised if you weren't hurting, you were attacked pretty badly… Don't worry about your parents, my mother called them last night and said you'd been over and fell asleep on the couch and she didn't have the heart to wake you up. Lucky that there's no school today~"

"…I see." Dan was quiet for a moment before asking, "Why would your mother… lie for me?"

Sengoku shook his head, looking almost… sad. "My mother would do a lot more," he said. "Let's just concentrate on getting you better right now, okay?"

"…Okay." Dan swallowed, shifting his arm just a bit and wincing as he did so. "But… what exactly happened?"

"You were attacked," Sengoku said simply, a serious look on his face. "I… saved you." He reached a hand to smooth Dan's hair. "Now, stay still. You need rest if you want to heal."

"I knew that much already," Dan murmured. "Who attacked me? Why? And… how did you… save me?" He closed his eyes, frowning as he tried his best to remember. "You… told me not to be afraid…"

"Yeah." Sengoku sighed, sitting on the floor next to the bed and leaning his arms on it. "First of… this is going to be hard to believe, okay? So don't go all disbelieving on me or something. I wouldn't lie to you about something this important." He waited until Dan nodded just a bit before going on. "Okay. First of all, the question isn't about who attacked you… it's about what. You were attacked by a vampire."

"A vampire?" Dan's eyes flew wide. "But… vampires don't exist!"

"Unfortunately… they do." Sengoku smirked rather humourlessly. It was a strange look on his senpai's face. "There are indeed vampires… closer than you might think, even." Raising a hand, he then shifted it just a bit. Suddenly, his nails grew into long, threatening claws. Dan flinched at the sight of them.

"Those claws," he murmured. "You… you wouldn't have…"

"It wasn't me, Dan-kun," Sengoku replied hastily, the claws disappearing just as soon as they had appeared. "That was another vampire… one who enjoys hurting people. I… got rid of him." A visible shudder ran through Sengoku's body. "He can't get you or anyone else anymore. You're safe now."

"Oh…" Dan forced himself to calm down. He was being silly. Of course Sengoku-senpai wouldn't hurt him. "But… what did you do?" He glanced down at himself. "I… remember him hurting me… more than this…" He was certainly in enough pain as it was, but he was fairly sure he'd had a bad gash on his shoulder, certainly worse than the shallow, already healing wound he now saw there.

"Well…" Sengoku chewed his lip. "He indeed hurt you a lot… Perhaps… too much to survive." As Dan glanced at him sharply, Sengoku sighed. "To save you, I had to…" he trailed off.

"Yes?" Dan asked. "You had to what?"

Sengoku looked at him seriously, sadly, almost… apologetically. "I had to Turn you."

*

"You don't look too happy." Jackal glanced at Marui.

"Well, I'm not," Marui replied, popping a pink gum bubble. He looked quite pale, too, Jackal noticed to his immense worry. "Some idiot hunter thought last night I'd be a good target."

"Oh, no!" Jackal's eyes widened. "Were you hurt?" Why, oh why hadn't he been there to help his friend?

"Yup." Marui sighed, rubbing his shoulder. "Got a good hit on me before I even knew to be careful… I got rid of him so I wasn't hurt much worse, but it still stings."

"I see." Jackal hesitated briefly. "Do you… need help?"

Marui blinked, then shook his head. "Nah," he murmured. "I'd love a snack, but can't keep relying on you all the time, right? Especially with Akaya being what he is…"

"Now that's surprisingly mature of you." Jackal chuckled just a bit. "…Do you at least want me to talk to Yukimura for you?" he asked. "You know, so he might go easy on you today…"

"Doubt he will… but you can always try." Marui grinned brightly. "You're the best, Jackal~"

Jackal just smiled. There wasn't a lot he could do to help his friend, but what little there was, he was glad to do.


	3. Getting the Data

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Konomi Takeshi does. I'm merely playing with them for the moment.

A/N: Over twice the length of the previous chapters. I doubt people will complain too much.

* * *

**Blood and Tears**

_Chapter 3_

Getting the Data

"What?" exclaimed Marui. "But that's totally cruel!"

"I'm sorry," Jackal sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "It's just what Yukimura said. I told you what you told me, but..."

"But I'm suffering!" Marui moaned. "I'm absolutely exhausted and worn and injured and everything from last night! Can't he cut me a bit of slack? He's always kicking us around in tennis practice, and when it's not that, then we're fighting! That's so completely wrong!"

"Oh, do forgive me," a soft voice said right behind him. Marui froze immediately, well recognizing the voice. "I never thought I was putting quite such a burden on you... perhaps you're just weaker than I thought?"

"Ah, no!" Marui said hastily, spinning around to look at the captain who had just appeared right behind his back. "I mean, that's not what I meant! It's just, I really got in pretty bad shape last night, and..."

"But certainly you wouldn't be in bad shape unless you were weak and got bested, hmm?" Yukimura's smile was just as dazzling as always when he was delivering his verdicts -- rarely too merciful -- to his players. "Perhaps that is just a sign you need more of practice in just such situations... worry not, I'll be more than happy to accommodate your circumstances." Marui knew better than to get too hopeful at this. And true enough, soon he found Yukimura turning around to shout. "Oh, Genichirou! I'd like you to work with Bunta today, he obviously needs some help with his survival defense techniques!"

Marui muttered something under his breath that caused Yukimura to raise his eyebrows ever-so-slightly. However, at the captain's questioning gaze, Marui merely murmured, "Nothing, buchou," then sighed. "Sparring with Sanada, huh..."

"I merely thought it would be for the best for you," Yukimura said with his gentlest tone. "After all, if fighting with a hunter put you in such bad shape, it would certainly be for the best to let you get some practice in fighting against a hunter who's not truly set on getting you dead, right? And I doubt Genichirou would go quite that far... well, unless he decides you need to be taught a lesson."

"What kind of a lesson is that?!" Marui snapped, paling just a bit. "Do you want me dead?"

"Certainly not," Yukimura replied with an almost cheerful tone. "And that is exactly why I want you to practice fighting with Genichirou; so the next time you are in such a pinch, you will be better prepared." Smile, smile. Nobody ever dared to disagree with Yukimura. At least, nobody to their knowledge had done so and lived to tell about it. "Or are you perhaps disagreeable?"

"No, buchou." Case in point. "...Maybe he won't outright kill me..."

"I'm sure he won't." Yukimura gave Marui another one of his ever so charming, dazzling smiles. "Now go before he gets too annyoed and changes his mind about your survival."

The sound Marui made as Yukimura ushered him towards Sanada was most undignified.

~S~

Curled up on the couch in Sengoku's family's living room, Dan tucked his feet under himself. He was currently wearing a very big T-shirt and rather worn sweat pants which he assumed were his senpai's possessions, judging by the size. The T-shirt in particular was far too large for him, constantly slipping off to the side to leave one of his shoulders peeking out of the neckline. Dan had long since stopped btohering to correct this, instead concentrating on drinking the hot chocolate Sengoku's mother had made for him. It was long past breakfast time right now, so she had thought it for the best if he didn't eat too much right away but rather waited for the lunch to fill himself properly. Thus he was now talking with Sengoku as they both waited for the lunch to be prepared. Or, rather, it might have been said that he asked questions, which Sengoku then answered, some in more detail than others.

"So... I don't absolutely have to drink blood, right?" Dan asked quietly. "I can survive just by eating food?"

"Well... theoretically, that's right," Sengoku said, scratching the back of his neck in a slightly awkward fashion. "It's just... it's not that we really need the blood to survive, right. Without it you might show some signs of malnutrition, like get pale and maybe a bit thin, but you won't die. The problem is that if you don't drink any blood for a while, there's... a lust for it? Yeah, it's kind of a blood lust... and it gets worse with time." He shook his head. "Those who can resist it infinitely are extremely rare... most just agree that it's better to get a bit of blood every now and then rather than wait until you go insane and completely drain someone."

"So... you don't always drain someone?" Dan was a bit careful, now, and he knew full well it was obvious in his voice. The thought was just so... frightening, to be honest. He didn't really want to think of himself as a vampire, hunting others for their blood... the mere idea made him shudder. That was what that vampire had been after, right? The one who had attacked and hurt him...

"No, of course not." Sengoku looked at him seriously. "Dan-kun... most vampires don't do like the one who attacked you. Very few do, in fact. If we all hunted like that, we'd have all been killed ages ago. It'd be far too obvious. Rather... well, some get what you might call servants," he said with a slightly awkward chuckle. "That means a human who gives them their blood voluntarily whenever they need it... it's kind of a big deal, though, simply to let a human know what you are in the first place. So, most people only really do that with a lover or a very close friend or something." He gave Dan a small smile. "My father's a human, you know. He gives his blood to my mother... and me, when I was still little."

"So... your mother is a vampire?" Dan asked hesitantly. He had a hard time believing that the nice, warm Sengoku-san could be something that seemed right out of horror stories, even if she was apparently very ready to lie for him to his parents to hide the fact a vampire had attacked him... of course, Dan also had trouble believing Sengoku-senpai could be one, either. As Sengoku's nod rather forced him to accept this as accurate data, though, he then asked, "What about your sister?" Sengoku-senpai did have a big sister, after all...

"Well, she's not one, no." Sengoku shook his head. "The genetics are a bit funny with this... If both parents are vampires, then basically all kids are, too, but with us halves, it's not that simple. Sometimes, the kid is born with it, sometimes not. I was a case of the former, my sis of the latter. Of course, it doesn't show right away... I don't really remember when I first showed any signs, but it must have been around the start of primary school or so. My mother would know better... it comes a bit at a time, anyway, so it doesn't all drop on the kid all at once. I think it's a good thing, really. It'd be just a bit dangerous to have pre-school kids running around with all the powers of an adult vampire." He tilted his head to the side. "I still don't have my full powers... and I don't think you will have them for a while yet, either."

Dan shuddered again. That was... not something he wanted to think too deeply on, really. Of course, he couldn't entirely forget the fact, what with all those wounds from the attack slowly fading away one by one, only leaving behind some itch and slightly red skin where they had been, but he really didn't want to discuss it right now. Data. Right. More data was good. Even if it was strange data. "But where do you get your blood if there is no human?" he asked. "Do you just go and... get someone?"

"Basically, yes." Sengoku sighed, then quickly shook his head as he probaly saw the apprehension on Dan's face. "I told you already, it's not done like that bastard did to you... most of the time, the people we get blood from don't even know we were there. We pick someone at night, use our powers to numb them, get a quick drink, and then just heal the bite and blank their memories from the last ten minutes or so before leaving. They'll be a bit disoriented for a moment, then continue their way home like nothing had happened. Getting the bloodlust away really doesn't take a lot; they won't really be harmed by it at all."

"If you say so desu..." Dan still felt somewhat doubtful. It all just seemed so... surreal. And, well, his own experiences might have made him somewhat biased, but he really didn't like the thought of anyone attacking someone for their blood. "So... how do people become vampires?" he asked. It was getting closer to the subject he really didn't want to breach, but he was curious and he knew full well he couldn't avoid it forever. "I mean, other than being born as one, like you desu."

"It's pretty simple, really." Sengoku shrugged. "Just being drunk from doesn't really turn you... that'd soon mean we'd have more vampires running around than humans, and that's a really bad thing, since drinking from a vampire doesn't do anything to take the bloodlust away. I don't know the exact mechanisms, but basically, you both need a vampire to drink from you and to drink a vampire's blood. There's some tales about how those who were turned by two different vampires are stronger or weaker or what part of your powers comes from which one in that case, but that's really not relevant to you since I did both." He bit his lip. "That guy who attacked you... he'd only used his claws, not fangs, so just giving my blood to you wouldn't have been enough... so I had to drink from you a bit, too." He hung his head momentarily. "Sorry."

"No... don't be." Dan really didn't like seeing Sengoku-senpai so down because of him... Sengoku-senpai was always so optimistic, seeing him like this just made him feel bad, too. "I mean... I should thank you, right? If you hadn't come there, I'd be dead now desu..."

"...I guess." Sengoku sighed again. "I thought for a moment that I shouldn't do it at all... some people think that being a vampire is worse than being dead. But, well, I guess I'm just that selfish. I couldn't just let my kouhai die..."

"No, I mean it." Dan shook his head franticly. "I may not really understand this yet... but I'm sure nothing can be as bad as dying desu." Another shudder ran through his entire body. Suddenly, he felt very cold, hurrying to take a sip of his hot chocolate. "It's just... I was scared desu," he whispered, though he was certain Sengoku heard every word. "I was so scared... so scared I would die..." He closed his eyes as he remembered that moment. "When you came there... I thought it had to be a dream, that I was hallucinating or something just before I died... I was just so cold and it hurt so much, and I was so afraid of dying there..." He somehow managed to force his eyes open and a faint smile on his lips. "So... thanks, Sengoku-senpai desu. Without you... I would have died."

"Don't thank me." Sengoku actually seemed a bit embarrassed at that. "I couldn't very well let my kouhai die in a dirty dark alley, could I? And definitely not like that. Those stupid old-fashioned killers give a bad name to all vampires."

"Old-fashioned?" Dan blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, that guy just was from... the simpler end of the scale when it comes to vampire fighting," Sengoku admitted. "It's a bit complicated, so I'll explain it some other time, okay? Let's just say he didn't fight as well as he could have." He gave Dan an encouraging smile. "Right now, let's go and harass my mother, okay? Let's see if she has the lunch ready yet~"

Dan's smile was still faint, but now, he really did mean it. "...Let's go see desu."


	4. Learning the Basics

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Konomi Takeshi does. I'm merely playing with them for the moment.

**

* * *

Blood and Tears**

_Chapter 4_

Learning the Basics

Dan wouldn't have thought it possible to see such a change in such a short time, but he did feel much better after lunch. He was feeling almost cheerful as he called his parents, assuring them that he had gotten enough sleep and yes he was being polite and of course he had thanked Sengoku's family for looking after him and yes he would be home before dark. The last comment drew a slightly amused glance from Sengoku who was listening from the side, but Dan chose to ignore him. It wasn't his fault he'd been out so late the night before; he'd been over at the street courts gathering data and one particularly interesting match had lasted long after the lights had been turned on. Obviously he couldn't have left until it was over, and besides it wasn't like anything had ever happened before all those times he hadn't gotten home until after dark because of tennis practice or collecting data or whatever. Okay, so perhaps he wouldn't have gone running out into the dark now that he knew exactly how dangerous it could be, but then last night had been the first time it had turned out to be dangerous.

As he ended the call, Sengoku reached out a hand to ruffle his hair. "That's a good little Dan-kun," he chuckled. "By the way, my mother said your uniform probably can't be patched together anymore, but my old one from my first year should fit you just fine. It's still in pretty good condition so nobody should notice anything."

Dan nodded gratefully. "You're going into so much trouble because of me," he murmured. "I really don't know what I can do in return..."

"You don't have to," Sengoku said reassuringly. "I already told you I couldn't let you die... and the moment I chose to turn you instead, you became my responsibility. I chose that myself, mind you, so no blaming yourself for anything, got it?" He winked at Dan. "I always kinda wondered what it'd be like to have someone younger than me to order around~ You can now play my little brother in the vampire family at least!"

Thanks to his improved mood, Dan even managed something like a smile at that however much he didn't like the thought of himself being a vampire. "Well, you'd better be a very nice big brother, then," he said, "since I think there's still a lot I have to learn about this thing desu. I mean, I have so little data on this desu..." He raised at his hand and looked at it. Both Sengoku-senpai and that other vampire had gotten claws on their hands in a flash. Could he do it, too? It seemed so... cruel, really, but... The thought also intrigued him. In a purely data-ish fashion, of course. He could have never thought of harming someone else on purpose, but... what if he actually was capable of doing something more than just yelling at people? And if he didn't know more, he certainly couldn't understand all this.

"I'll tell you whatever you need to know, provided I know it, myself," Sengoku promised. "And any questions I can't answer, I'm sure my mother can. But let's take it a bit at a time, okay? I'm sure this is a lot to take in and all." He grinned at Dan. "Wanna try and see if your vampire reflexes have already set in?"

Dan blinked. "And how could we test that?" he asked, clueless.

"Easy." Sengoku's grin turned into a smirk. "Let me trash you in video games!"

Dan blinked again, then grinned. "You're on desu~ Though it really is unfair if you have vampire reflexes and I don't!"

"No it's not," Sengoku argued. "Just think of it as practice. It's not unfair for me to play tennis against you even though I have much more experience, right? It's just all teaching you how to play better, so one day you might surpass me!"

"That and you like the easy wins." Dan stuck out his tongue at Sengoku, earning a light swat on his head. "Ow! Kouhai abuse desu~"

"Shut up and come on." And, grabbing on his arm, Sengoku started dragging him towards his own room again. Not that Dan was too unwilling to follow.

It would do only good to get his mind off this particular subject for a little while.

*

"About time you two showed up." Sengoku's mother shook her head with a slightly exasperated look on her face as the boys finally returned downstairs, sheepishly pausing at the kitchen door. "I must have called you for dinner three times!"

"Sorry, mother," Sengoku said cheerfully. "I was just teaching Dan-kun some basic shields. Wouldn't want him to run into danger the moment he steps out of the house, right?" He poked Dan in the arm, receiving a glare from his kouhai. "He's pretty good at it, too~ Must be one of his strengths or something." Dan really was picking up the whole shield thing very fast. His shields were certainly stronger than average for such a beginner; even if they never got better than that, Dan really wouldn't have much trouble keeping himself hidden from hunters and other such worries.

Hunters. Right. He'd have to mention something about them, too... but perhaps not just yet. All this was quite a lot to take in, and dataist or not, Dan had to be feeling rather overwhelmed by now. There was no reason to confuse him completely by adding even more details to the mix. As long as Dan could shield himself, there was no hurry to make him worry about hunters, too.

"I'm so sorry, Sengoku-san," Dan said, an adorable little flush on his face as he hurried to apologize. "We honestly didn't realize you were calling for us..."

"Oh, it's okay." She melted into a smile again. Not that Sengoku was surprised. Very few people could bear to be angry at an apologetic Dan. Even Akutsu had trouble with that, though Sengoku rather suspected there was more at play in that particular case than just Dan looking freaking adorable with his tiny flush and big eyes and oh-so-sorry tone of voice. "Now get to the table, okay? And after we've eaten, Dan-kun can change and Kurosuke-san will take him home, okay?"

"Ah, you don't have to go into so much trouble for my sake," Dan hurried to say. "Honestly, it's not that far..."

"No buts, Dan-kun." Sengoku's mother gave him her best no-messing-with-me smile. It was very convincing indeed, almost on par with Dan's own puppy eyes in terms of influence. "You're still recovering, and you were attacked just last night. There's no way we could bear the responsibility if something happened to you on your way home!" She tsked. "It'll be a while yet until you're safe walking home after dark on your own."

"Don't take it so hard, Dan-kun," Sengoku said, ruffling his kouhai's hair. "Mother's right, you know. We just don't want you to get hurt – and it's no trouble, really." He winked. "Father knows this means he gets out of vacuuming the living room." His parents gave him somewhat bemused glances but neither tried to actually disagree.

"...If you're sure." Dan's smile was still a bit uncertain, but at least it was a smile. Always a step forward!

"Of course. Don't you dare doubt your senpai's word, okay?" Sengoku gave Dan a grin and then a shove towards the table. "Now, let's eat! I'm famished~"

Dan followed his lead. For the first time since the night before, Sengoku was certain there was no smell of fear lingering around the younger boy.

Well. Perhaps they'd both pull through this after all.

*

"Oh, don't be ridiculous." He could almost taste the disapproval in the air even as he stepped aside to dodge the strike coming his way. "You don't actually expect to parry me with that alone, do you?"

"Certainly not," he replied. "However, you seem to forget the basic difference between the two of us." Bouncing back, he made sure he was out of easy reach before launching an attack. "My weapon is ranged."

"Your weapon is ridiculous." Blocking his attack, the other rushed forward. "You've read one manga too many if you think that's actually going to be an effective weapon."

"It's served me well this far." Again moving out of the way, he prepared himself for yet another attack. His opponent was very skilled, but then so was he. He'd have to get his timing precisely right... first a distraction, and then... there.

He actually cut a bloody wound on the other's cheek, drawing a sound of annoyance out of the perfect lips. However, his triumph was rather short-lived as he found himself stumbling slightly. It wasn't much, but enough for the other to catch up with him, cornering him against a wall.

"Caught you," purred the other boy, tongue darting out to catch a drop of blood from the cut he'd made earlier even as his blade was held a hair's breadth from bare skin. "First blood is yours, perhaps, but victory is mine."

"Fine, fine," Oshitari sighed, rolling his eyes even as Atobe stepped back, withdrawing his blade. "I still resent your remark about my weapons."

"Oh, please, Oshitari. Playing cards?" Atobe chuckled as he put his weapon away, then touched the cut on his cheek almost thoughtfully. "They can wound, I give you that... but they are hardly a weapon to be taken seriously."

"Obviously, I will just have to convince you otherwise." Oshitari smirked. "As we noted... I drew the first blood."

"Oh, come on. Like I'd want anything to do with your blood anyway." Atobe chuckled, wiping a strand of sweaty hair from his forehead. "You're staying for tea, I hope?" He smirked. "There's chocolate cake."

"...With pleasure." As though anyone could say no to the most excellent cake only Atobe's cook seemed to be able to make.

Next time, he wouldn't be satisfied with just the first blood.


	5. Avoiding the Temptation

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Konomi Takeshi does. I'm merely playing with them for the moment.

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Blood and Tears**

_Chapter 5_

Avoiding the Temptation

Eiji was trying to resist. Honestly, he was. At times it seemed as though there was nothing he could concentrate on besides doing so, all his focus on simply keeping himself together in the face of the overwhelming temptation. However, each day that passed seemed to chip away at his not always so admirable self-control another little bit, just another moment of hesitation added to his struggles, another second spent thinking of the what ifs. All things considered, he was starting to get worried. Afraid, almost. He was sure he couldn't keep on resisting forever. What would happen when he finally failed?

Of course, he did know what he would do if he couldn't stop himself anymore. However, the consequences were harder to predict, and for what part they were obvious, they were all the more horrifying. He could imagine it so well, could almost taste the warm blood on his tongue, could almost feel his fangs sinking into flesh, almost, almost... but the terror of the idea always held him back, for now at least. He wasn't going to give in quite that easily. Not in a matter as important as this.

He couldn't allow himself to slip. Not when it was Oishi who was in danger.

Eiji was sure Oishi was noticing his odd behaviour, even if nobody else did. Oishi always knew him the best, after all. He could feel the gazes, the concerned glances, yet for now Oishi hadn't asked him about it. Eiji was glad for that small relief at least. He wasn't sure how he could have answered if it had come down to that. 'Oh, you know, I just really want to drink your blood.' Oh, right, that'd go over so well indeed.

It didn't exactly help that Oishi and he were so close, anything but. Every moment they spent together meant another moment he had to hold himself back, another moment during which he smelled that lovely scent of Oishi so very close, so close he could almost just reach out and grasp him, could almost lean over and take a bite... He was already starting to put distance between them, if only to help himself hold onto his resolve. If he'd constantly been closer to Oishi, he was sure that sooner or later he would have failed. Sooner or later he would have hurt Oishi.

Thus he kept asking to play doubles with others, more diverse training he called it, asked someone else to help him with homework, walked home with Momo instead. Sometimes Oishi looked at him as though he'd been hurt, and it really hurt Eiji as well, but he forced himself to ignore those looks because really this was better than the alternative.

He couldn't let Oishi know what he was. He couldn't let Oishi know he had become a monster.

Perhaps he didn't understand all that much about what he had become, but he was learning. There wasn't much he could do, not with the nosy siblings and his full schedule of school and tennis and friends, but sometimes, when he managed to catch a moment or two for himself, he made some... experiments... with his new powers. He was sure he was woefully miserable still, that there was much left for him to learn, but it wasn't like he could just intuitively figure out everything about his new powers. Or new curse, whatever it was called.

It certainly seemed like a curse, being the same as those who had hurt him.

Sometimes he almost slipped up and told Oishi, certainly Oishi could have helped, Oishi could be surprisingly sensible about the weirdest things sometimes, but at the same time he felt that Oishi was the last person who could know. He didn't want Oishi to see him as a monster. Perhaps it would have helped in his struggle, perhaps it would have made Oishi stay away and stay safe, but however much he might have made Oishi hurt by his ever increasing avoidance and poor excuses it was still better than have Oishi look at him with disgust or even fear. He didn't want Oishi to fear him. He didn't want that, even though Oishi perhaps should have feared.

He was more keenly aware of Oishi now, too, not that he had ever been indifferent. Where before he had just had the connection of a good doubles pair, though, somehow just sensing when the other was tired or thirsty or just anything, now he could smell Oishi's scent, hear his breath, even his heartbeat. It was creepy and weird, but somehow fascinating, too; it was like he had suddenly gained some kind of an Oishi sensor that allowed him to know just when his doubles partner was nearby even without seeing him. Sometimes, when they were close and he wasn't too worried about losing his control, Eiji just closed his eyes and enjoyed the knowledge that Oishi was close, that Oishi was right next to him and Eiji could hear him and smell him just as well as he could see. Oishi had the most calming scent, somehow reassuring not that that made much sense, and sometimes he almost felt that alone might have been enough to keep his thirst under control.

Then Oishi shifted or said something and another kind of feeling arose in him, and suddenly the scent wasn't calming at all but rather it was calling to the new desires that had awoken within him alongside his powers, suddenly he wanted to taste and drain and hurt even though he could never bear to hurt Oishi.

Perhaps he might hurt someone else. Perhaps some day, his control wouldn't be enough, and it wouldn't be enough to just turn his head and focus elsewhere when someone scraped a knee in practice and the smell of blood overwhelmed all his senses, and perhaps he would be unable to hold himself back and attack someone and then he could never look himself in the eye again even if somehow he might avoid being hated by everyone. However, even that was preferable to the thought of losing his control with Oishi.

If he hurt Oishi, he would never be able to forgive himself. And if not hurting Oishi meant staying away… then stay away he would, even if it felt like tearing himself apart in ways his Seal Step could have never achieved.

Why would his monster side want to hurt the one person he loved the most?


End file.
